Mike Mettler

Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Doors: The Final Cut
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 13, 2019
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Oliver stone first heard The Doors while serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in the late-1960s, and the impact of their music never left him. Amid much controversy, the Oscar-winning director brought his singular vision for The Doors biopic to middling box-office success in 1991. Though some disagreement lingers regarding particular story beats and extrapolated mythologizing, there's no denying Stone conveyed much of the perpetual mystique surrounding Doors frontman Jim Morrison with an altruistic eye.
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The S&V Interview
Peter Frampton Is All About The Blues
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 29, 2019
We caught up with Peter Frampton on one of his days off from the road to discuss his band’s fine chart-topping new album All Blues, why first or second takes are the best options, why the sun is a recurring theme in his songwriting, and why he feels his Farewell Tour needs to be his final hurrah.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsMusic Reviews
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus - Limited Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 23, 2019
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The rock and roll circus was coming to town. In 1968, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, The Who's guitar wizard Pete Townshend, and Small Faces bassist Ronnie Lane had collectively decided to organize a perpetual traveling show that would consist of equal parts live performance, grand spectacle, and mobile art installation, all rolled into one never-ending carnival bacchanal.
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The S&V Interview
Woodstock at 50: Back to the Garden
Mike Mettler  |  Aug 15, 2019
Fifty years ago today, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair commenced at Max Yasgur’s Farm in Bethel, New York, at exactly 5:07 p.m. — the very moment rhythmic folk ’n’ soul singer/songwriter Richie Havens took to the stage. It’s quite the understatement to say that the world culture has never been quite the same ever since the very second Havens strummed the chords of “From the Prison” on his Guild D40 acoustic guitar, and the first sounds of Woodstock rang out into eternity.
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Stream OnThrowback Thursday
Flashback 1999: MP3-for-All
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 25, 2019
Twenty years ago, Napster introduced the world to unlimited file-sharing — and the music business has never been the same since.
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The S&V Interview
Wayne Coyne, King Mouth of The Flaming Lips
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 24, 2019
We talk with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips about their current concept release, King’s Mouth: Music and Songs, incorporating stereo-friendly elements into a mix, mastering the lost art of the song transition, and why having a great drummer is crucial to a band’s long-term success.
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Music Reviews
Bob Dylan: The Rolling Thunder Revue – The 1975 Live Recordings
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 17, 2019
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Bob Dylan has long seen the value in releasing extensive historical collections befitting his anointed artistic legacy. The latest entry in the Dylan archival canon is a massive 14-CD box set via Columbia/Legacy, The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings, a 148-song, 10-hour collection that focuses on the first, late-1975 leg of the touring Revue. The box contains all five of Dylan’s full first-leg sets that were professionally recorded between November 19 and December 4, 1975 as spread over 10 discs…
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The S&V Interview
The Alarm’s Mike Peters: A Soul Survivor Among Equals
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 10, 2019
Mike Peters of The Alarm called us to discuss the band's deeply affecting new album Sigma, how the vinyl revival reconnects you with your music-seeking instincts, how a good producer acts as a creative compass, and how The Alarm’s approach to songwriting and song structure set them apart from the pack.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 05, 2019
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Capturing zeitgeist moments as they happen are a filmmaker's dream. Lucky for us, drummer/rhythmatist extraordinaire Stewart Copeland picked up a Super 8 film camera when The Police were but budding bleached-blonde young punks, and he filmed, well, practically everything they did both onstage and off.
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The S&V Interview
Dream Theater’s John Petrucci: Master of Time Signatures & Sonic Space
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 26, 2019
Dream Theater guitarist/producer John Petrucci got on the line with us to discuss why the music on their fine new album Distance Over Time is so well-suited for surround sound, how new ideas spring from having a band work together in the same room, and why physical packaging remains critical to their success.
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